


The Flip Side

by RetroArcadeRat



Category: Teen Beach Movie
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-05
Updated: 2015-02-13
Packaged: 2018-03-10 15:23:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3295304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RetroArcadeRat/pseuds/RetroArcadeRat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life in the 'real world' turns out to be pretty interesting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

So trying to follow Mack and Brady back to...wherever they came from hadn't exactly been the best idea, but it had worked out alright in the end once they'd finally found them. Tanner and the rest of the group were being taken on a shopping trip for more clothes in some very strange stores, since they'd only come over with the one pair. This whole things was still kind of freaking him out. He'd never believed that Mack and Brady were actually from the future but well...this was more than proof. And there didn't seem to be a way to get back, so he figured he might as well make the best of it. 

He stepped out of the changing room wearing a new pair of shorts. "Do these look alright?"

"Uh, yeah, as long as they fit I guess." Seacat was leaning against the wall, holding the clothes they'd decided to get.

"Yeah they fit fine. Hey, where'd Brady and Butchy go?"

"Well, Butchy was complaining about the selection, so Brady took him somewhere else. He told us to stay put."

"Alright, well, I think I'm done. What about you?"

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Right. I hope Brady gets back soon."

Seacat nodded in agreement as Tanner went back into the changing room to put his old shorts back on. As it turned out, they didn't have to wait long, because as soon as he'd stepped out of the changing room he spotted Brady walking back towards them. But no Butchy...he hated how quickly he'd noticed that. 

"Where's Butchy?" He asked anyways. It was an innocent enough question. 

"Went back home with the girls. They're done already."

"Well so are we." Seacat spoke up, handing Brady a stack of clothes. 

Tanner added the shorts to the top of the pile. "Yep, let's go!"

-

The trip had exhausted him, and as soon as they got home he'd given the shopping bags to Seacat and headed to the guest room that the boys now shared. It wasn't an ideal arrangement but they didn't have anything better. 

He had, however, been expecting an empty room, and not, well, a half naked biker. He tried to tell himself he wasn't staring but that would've been a painfully obvious lie. Butchy was laying on one side of the large mattress on the floor, wearing nothing but dark red boxer briefs and reading what looked like a manual. 

"Uh, get some nice clothes?" He asked awkwardly, flashing his signature smile.

The biker looked up, shrugging. "Yeah, they're alright. Miss my other stuff though."

"Yeah, me too." Tanner stepped into the room, kicking his shoes off and wondering just how little clothing he should wear to bed. Butchy certainly didn't seem to feel the need to hide anything. The boxer briefs were tight and didn't leave much to the imagination, not that he was looking of course. He shrugged to himself, stripping down to his own boxers. He lay down on the other side of the mattress (Seacat had called the only real bed in the room, the twin in the corner) and pulled the covers over himself. He was just drifting off to sleep when he was rudely jolted back awake. 

"Hey, cats! I'm gonna just take the couch, so don't wait up." He opened his eyes just enough to see Seacat's head poking through the doorway. 

"Wasn't planning on it." Butchy grumbled at him, turning a page of the manual. 

"Dude..." Even to himself Tanner sounded half asleep. "You can't just...call the bed and then...ugh, whatever." He shut his eyes again, snuggling back into the mattress and wrapping his arms around the pillow, hearing the door close as Seacat left. 

"I'm not moving." It took him a few seconds to realize Butchy was addressing him. He rolled over, reopening his eyes.

"Well, neither am I." He was too tired for this. He was sure he'd let a little bit of a smirk slip into his usual airhead smile. 

Butchy stared at him, expression unreadable, before finally speaking up, voice seeming a little softer than normal. "That's alright I suppose. You don't seem too bad of a guy to share a bed with." Was that a blush? Nah, must just be the red of his underwear...reflecting onto his face...somehow? Tanner had no clue what he was thinking anymore. He was way too sleepy. He didn't even bother rolling back over before closing his eyes and falling fast asleep facing Butchy.


	2. Chapter 2

Butchy had known from the moment Tanner lay down that he wasn't going to get any sleep that night. He'd finished reading the motorcycle manual he'd found in Mack's grandpa's garage awhile ago and was laying on his side, more or less staring at Tanner. 

There were two main types of biker leaders. The type that always had their girl along with them, and the type that always had their sister with them. Usually the second type was that way because they didn't have a girl, or had a really cool sister, or both. Butchy, on the other hand, was the second type for those two and one other reason. He didn't really go for chicks. It was pretty frowned upon (at least in 1962, and he hadn't seen anything to indicate things had changed), but he wasn't about to be someone he wasn't just for his image, no matter how much he cared about it. 

He sighed, closing his eyes and trying to find sleep, but he just couldn't do it. Even if it weren't for the angel sleeping beside him, he wasn't tired, and he suddenly felt like he couldn't do anything else until he knew how things stood in...20...whenever they were. 

He stood up, pulling on his dark jeans and red T-shirt and venturing out into the house, searching for Brady. He finally found him in the kitchen, doing something on his phone and snacking on chips. 

"Hey, Brady."

"Hm?" He looked up, putting his phone down and wiping his hand on his pants. 

"I was wondering, well..."

"Ask away, man. What is it?"

"Is it still weird for...two guys to...you know." He couldn't finish that sentence. It was just so awkward. 

"To date? Well, I mean not everywhere, but we're in California so...it's pretty accepted. Why do you ask?"

"Ah, no reason, just curious."

Brady raised an eyebrow, grinning at him. "You got a crush, greaser boy?"

"A crush? Hell no. I'm going to bed." He growled, turning on his heel more to hide his burning face than anything, and stomped back to the guest room. 

The short conversation didn't help him sleep. Actually, it made it harder. The revelation that he and Tanner dating wasn't completely impossible had made it feel more dangerous. Before it had just been a dream; a strange fantasy to be pushed to the back of his mind and never entertained. But now...Tanner was laying next to him, lips parted slightly and sleeping soundly, and it took a great deal of restraint not to lean over and kiss him right then and there. 

There was, however, still a problem. Tanner had a girl. More specifically, Tanner had Butchy's sister. Even if they broke up, there was a good chance that he didn't go for guys, and never would. 

He frowned, the uncertainty finally cutting through his previous excitement and allowing him to drift off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Tanner was sitting in the guest room alone, staring out the window and thinking. When he had first gotten here, he'd started to feel strange, and it hadn't gone away. The relationship that he'd been so sure was destiny now just felt like he'd been...well, acting. Which he had been if what Brady and Mack said was true. He was realizing more and more clearly that he had never actually loved Lela. It was just what was supposed to happen. He really hoped she felt the same, because he wouldn't be able to keep the act up much longer. He had to tell her. 

The door opened behind him and he glanced back, expecting to see Butchy, but instead saw Lela, smiling at him awkwardly. "Hey, Tanner...can I talk to you?"

"Yeah, what's up?" He turned around, leaning against the windowsill. 

"Do you...um, this new place, does it feel like it's messing with your emotions?"

"Yes! Well...wait, no. Kind of." He frowned, trying to find the words to describe what he was feeling. "Um...it feels like...I'm finally feeling my own emotions...instead of the ones I was supposed to feel." He looked up, hoping Lela understood. 

She nodded, giving him a shy smile. "Yeah, same here. So, you don't actually..."

"We don't actually..."

"Love each other." She finished for him, relief showing on her face. They sat in awkward silence until Lela spoke up again. "Well, I have a surfing lesson to get to!" 

Tanner nodded quickly. "Right! Yeah, have fun!"

She left the room and Tanner flopped back down on his side of the bed, feeling tons lighter than he had five minutes ago. He was humming to himself and reading a book he'd found in the closet when the door opened again and in walked Butchy but- well, he almost didn't recognize him. Where they came from, Butchy always wore the same thing. Always. So seeing him in something else bordered on shocking. 

It really shouldn't be affecting him this much. It looked almost identical to his usual outfit; it was even the same colors. But it was just so obviously...modern. Instead of his usual vest he had a leather jacket, the red T-shirt replaced by a red plaid button up- a sleeveless button up he saw as Butchy pulled the coat off. He was still wearing his old leather gloves, but the pants were new. His old pants were definitely not that tight. And finally, the biker's old Converse had been replaced by heavy leather boots. 

"What're you staring at, surfer?" His accent made Tanner giggle before he realized he was being asked a question and made what he hoped looked like a serious face. 

"Uh, nothing."

Butchy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure. I know we have different fashion tastes but that doesn't mean yours is better."

Butchy thought he was judging his clothes? "Oh- no, that's not why...I just- er, they look good on you." He stared determinedly at the ground, almost not believing he'd actually said that out loud. 

After a long, awkward silence Butchy finally spoke up. "You feeling alright, Tanner?"

"Yep! Just fine!" He replied, managing to finally look back up at him and even smile. Was Butchy blushing or was he imagining it again?

"Right. Well, I don't really dress to look good. I ain't got nobody to look good for. Not like you do, anyways."

"Me?" Who was he talking about? Oh right! Lela! "Ah...about that..." Butchy raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for him to continue. "We uh...well, we both realized that we only liked each other because it was supposed to happen. You know, in the movie or whatever. So...yeah, we're not together anymore."

"Oh." His face seemed to go through a spectrum of emotions before finally settling on expressionless. "Alright." 

"In fact..." At this point Tanner couldn't seem to stop talking. He willed his mind to shut his mouth, but it wasn't working. "I'm not sure I like girls at all." He frowned, realizing how that sounded. "Wait...that's not what I meant..." The more he thought about it, however, the more he realized that maybe that was what he meant. "I gotta go." He stepped around Butchy and out of the room, leaving the house behind in search of somewhere quiet. He needed to think.


	4. Chapter 4

The clock was flashing '1:06' at Butchy, and he frowned at it. Surely it couldn't be that late already. Last night he hadn't been able to sleep because Tanner was so close. Tonight, however, he couldn't sleep because Tanner wasn't there at all. In fact, he had no clue where Tanner was. He hadn't seen him since he'd left the house earlier. 

Finally giving up the quest for sleep, he got up, wandering around the house and peeking into the living room, kitchen, bathrooms, and eventually concluding that Tanner wasn't in the house. But where the hell else would he be at one in the morning? 

He went back to the guest room, pulling on his new jacket and boots before venturing out onto the beach. It was pretty cold outside, so fortunately he had only gotten about 30 feet before he realized where Tanner probably was. "The surf shop, where else?" He muttered to himself, making his way back up the beach. 

He pushed the door open, looking around the main shop before checking the back room and finding Tanner curled up in the back corner, fast asleep. 

"Idiot surfer." He grumbled, picking him up before frowning as he saw how red his eyes were. Had he been crying? The thought made it feel like there was a thousand pound weight in his chest and he shook it out of his head. He could ask later. For now he should get him to bed. 

The journey back to the guest room was not an easy one. He was far more focused on making sure he didn't bump Tanner's head than looking where his feet were going and he tripped more times then he'd like to admit. He always righted himself though, and Tanner didn't wake up until he'd finally gotten him under the covers. 

"Butchy..."

"Hm?" Tanner was obviously still half asleep. He was speaking softly and his words were slurred. 

"I think...I think I need to go to church."

"What?" Butchy would've laughed if Tanner hadn't looked so worried. 

"I...I like guys..." His voice was a whisper, and the terrified look on his face was half funny and half breaking Butchy's heart. 

"Why does that mean you have to go to chu- oh." He looked down at the ground, trying to find something, anything to say to him. "Look, that doesn't mean nothing, alright?"

"But-"

"Look, I know what you were raised to think. Really, I was there. But things are different now. Brady told me so. Anyways, I never believed all the shit the church told us. I had a lot of time to think on it back home."

"You did?"

"Yeah I think maybe since I wasn't a main character I had more access to my own thoughts than you, but that's just a theory."

"I- wait does that mean..."

"I like guys? Yeah, it does. And I don't care what anyone says. Just they try and say something about it." He took this opportunity to flex, showing off his arm muscles to Tanner. 

"Wow, if only I were that strong." He seemed to be transfixed by Butchy's chest. 

"Ah don't worry." Butchy winked at him. "I can protect you too."

"I- what?" Tanner's face had turned a very interesting shade of pink. 

At that moment, Butchy made a really idiotic, spur of the moment decision. He kneeled down in front of Tanner, smirking. "I said, I can protect you." As soon as the words left his mouth his lips were on Tanner's, his hands sliding around to the back of his neck. Tanner didn't even hesitate before kissing back, arms going around Butchy and gripping at his shoulder blades. 

Butchy finally slept well that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long I've been busy with school and rats and cosplay

**Author's Note:**

> Uhhh yeah hey! I haven't written anything in so long but I recently rewatched Teen Beach Movie and...yeah.


End file.
